Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Wiki
Welcome to the Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Wiki Created by Nipun Monga This wiki is primarily created in order to provide an In depth analysis and critique of Philip K. Dick's science fiction novel, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? It will also include a thesis driven argument in response to whether or not humans and androids are the same. This critical wiki serves as my semester project for my ENGL278W class, taught by Professor Porter Wayne Olsen. Description of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Wiki This wiki is an extensive report on how, in this novel, a government system abuses its power in order to achieve full mind control of any being that is able to think freely. They configure androids to do as they please, and continue on to toy with the minds of human beings. They gain control over the humans through the creation of a false religion, Mercerism, as well as instilling certain norms and opinions in the minds of the humans. After World War Terminus, only the intelligent individuals were allowed to emmigrate to Mars, while the ones who lacked knowlegde were left behind to rot on Earth. This clearly shows how the government is intending to gain an advantage for themselves by preserving the intelligent, since without the intelligent ones androids would not have been able to be manufactured, while disregarding the rest since they are of no use for the government. This in turn gives the government full power over both the humans and the androids, and in the eyes of the government, there is no distinction between the two. They are just seen as the controlled, while the government is the controller. This novel is illuminating the fact that the government seeks full power over anything and everything. Mercerism Mercerism is the primary religion found on Earth after World War Terminus. The religious icon that represents Mercerism is Wilbur Mercer. There is a fusion with the other followers of Mercerism which is made possible through an empathy box. This box allows people to feel the presence of the other followers. During this fusion, Wilbur Mercer is seen as this shadowy figure, walking up a never ending hill, and every now and then a rock is flung onto the person that is fused with the empathy box. The pain and blood is real, even after fusion is complete, the injure incurred during the fusion still exists.http://www.gradesaver.com/do-androids-dream-of-electric-sheep/study-guide/major-themes/ Wilbur Mercer Wilbur Mercer is the icon of Mercerism. He preaches various ideologies which bring many of, what is left, the humans on Earth under one religion. This "religion" preaches a very important concept in my opinion, that it is acceptable to kill someone if and only if they are a killer. This preaching is what gives Rick Deckard, an android bounty hunter, the reassurance he needs to continue on and kill the eight refugee androids lurking around on the planet Earth. They attempted to kill another bounty hunter, which classifies them as muderers, and this classification gives premis, as well as reassurance, for Rick to "retire" them. What the followers of Mercerism do not see though, is that the government itself classifies as a killer. The government left helpless humans on the Dust stricken Earth to simply fend for themselves without any support. They simply provide ONE television channel, the Buster Friendly show, which THEY control. Buster Friendly serves as the competitor in followers to Mercerism. They are constantly competing against eachother in an attempt to attain as many blind, unknowing followers as they can. But the fact of the matter here is that the government is controlling both of them. The government is controlling the people who controll the remaining people of Earth. This reinforces how the government is attempting to control everything and everyone, by employing people they control to gain more followers. The government will then convey the information they please and filter the minds of the followers to believe only what the government wants you to beileve. Belief In Mercerism thumb|300px|right|Experience Mercerism The belief in Mercerism, is one that of completely blind faith. The followers of Mercerism do not know whether this is a real person heading the religion or something else. What they do know is that this religion gives them something to believe in. It provides them with hope that they are not alone, and that they are not the only ones suffering. This gives these people a sense that they are not alone and allows them to feel content with their lives on Earth, even though their living conditions are extremely horrible. The government is responsible for this false belief. The government made up this religion in an old Hollywood movie set and Wilbur Mercer is a simple drunk whom they had employed. The government sets this up in order to keep the human left on Earth under their control because religion is the perfect means of doing this. Religion will keep people together under one common relationship, their blind faith in Mercerism. The government is taking advantage of this blind faith and teaching them things that they please. As previously said, the biggest teaching I thought they preached was the acceptance of killing a killer. But then think of this, wouldn't killing a killer make the killer of the killer, a killer? This means that the person exterminating the muderers left on Earth is a killer himself and they are then free to be killed. This is creating a never ending chain of killing and it will continue on until there is nothing left to inhabit the planet Earth. This seems to be the plan for the government, to exterminate what is left on Earth and to completely let it die. Why else would they convey such a message? The advantage of this for the government is that they would not have anything to do with Earth once it is completely desolate. Their primary focus would be on their home planet, Mars. Governing two planets is difficult, with one planet out of the way, it is much easier to govern the home planet and attain complete control over there as well. Specials A special is "a person who does not meet the requirements set by an IQ test. By failing the test, a person is classified as a special, and therefore can not marry or emigrate." http://www.gradesaver.com/do-androids-dream-of-electric-sheep/study-guide/glossary-of-terms/ This is clearly another way the government is trying to keep total control. This is the method through which they are only preserving the ones that would be an asset to them, the intelligent humans. The unintelligent ones have nothing to offer, and therefore would be a waste of time for the government. For this reason, they formulated a method which would keep them from populating Mars with inferiority. This allows the government to have a reason to keep them from emigrating. To keep them from emigrating, the government needs to exercise their control over them and keep them on Earth, and they are able to do this successfully by adminstering an IQ test as well as synthesizing false religions and artificial television shows which, since they are not too bright, make these "inferior" humans believe anything. Since they will believe anything, they will then believe that they are not fit to emigrate and they then think that this is their destiny, to rot on a decaying planet. This ability to make these people believe what the they want gives the government the total mind control power they desire over the humans that are left on Earth. J. R. Isidore J. R. Isidore is the primary example of a person classified as a special on Earth. He is no less a human being as the people who were able to emigrate to Mars. But yet, he was still left behind because he was unable to pass the IQ test. He is the perfect icon for what humanity stands for, he is caring towards everything, and yet he is left behind like trash. This would only happen to the people who are seen to have no value, and to the government, this is the case for J. R. Isidore. There is nothing that he can offer to the government. If he suddenly went out of existence, no one would notice. But at the same time, he is the perfect subject for total mind control. He is completely immersed in Mercerism and utilizes the empathy box all the time. He is under the control of Mercerism and this is clear when Pris, an android, is destroying the spider with no remorse and J. R. is devasted and finds relief through the use of the empathy box. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, Philip K. Dick, Page 205-215 This shows that J. R. is completely dependent on the empathy box, and on Mercerism, and that dependence is what allows Mercerism to control him. Since Mercerism controlls J. R., and the government is controlling Mercerism, the government therefore, controlls J. R. and he does not even know it. The perfect mind control set up. The government in this novel, is an evil genius. Androids An android is a "robotic life form that is designed to look and act like a human being. There are only suble differences between androids and humans, the most obvious of which is that humans can feel empathy, while androids do not."http://www.gradesaver.com/do-androids-dream-of-electric-sheep/study-guide/glossary-of-terms/ The key term to notice from this defintion is "designed." Who designed the androids? THE GOVERNMENT. The government originally designed these androids to serve various purposes on the planet Mars. The androids were made to serve any human need. The humans were still excercising their superiority and they wanted control over these androids so they did not allow them to have any sort of freedom in Mars. For this reason, androids fled to Earth searching for salvation.Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Philip K. Dick This shows how the government synthesized a life form for the pure purpose of having control over it. They are simply reinacting slavery but with androids as the slave. And in their minds, it is acceptable since androids aren't technically alive and are not human beings. The government designs the androids for specific purposes, to do as they say, which ensures them control over the androids, at least until they design the androids so advance that they act on their own. Rachael Rosen Rachael Rosen is an android that is part of the Rosen Association, which constructs androids of different types.http://www.gradesaver.com/do-androids-dream-of-electric-sheep/study-guide/character-list/ Rachael is another example of something/someone that is being controlled, unknowingly, by the government. Rachael works for the Rosen Association and has multiple duties. Her primary duty is the observe how bounty hunters search for androids so that the association can make the modifications in order for the androids to be more like humans, since that is what humans desire. She is also employed by the company to "handle" bounty hunters. This means that her duties include the retiring of bounty hunters, so that there are no losses incurred by the government who is spending the immense amount of money in order for these androids to be built. She is a tool the government, who allows and regulates the Rosen Association, uses in order to ensure that their money is not being wasted. Why else would they constantly send out an android in the field with a bounty hunter? They only do so since they have an agenda of their own, and they intend on making others accomodate to them. Rachael is an android who does what she is told by her creators. Her ultimate creator is the government. By making her their tool, the government is publically displaying the power that they have and how they can exercise it when they need to. This shows how they have the control, and nobody else. What they say is what is done. Buster Friendly "Buster Friendly is a television and radio personality that broadcasts for most of the day and night. Buster is really an android used by the Rosen Association to create and tear down an alternate media reality for the citizens of earth."http://www.gradesaver.com/do-androids-dream-of-electric-sheep/study-guide/character-list/ The association is set up by the government, it cant have been established for such creations without government approval, in order to keep control over both of the planets that are being governed. Buster friendly is assigned by his creators to be this media personality in order to attain a massive number of followers on the planet Earth. This must be noted that the government also set up Mercerism. So the government had set up a religion as well as a media personality that spews out propaganda for almost twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. When something is blaring that much throughout the day, it is almost impossible not to listen to it. And when constantly listneing to Buster, the values that the government want to be projected through this television show, inevitably get etched into the minds of the people still on Earth. He is set up as a competitor to Mercerism, but in fact he was working with Mercerism, under the control of the government, to gain followers in every aspect so the government is able to control a wider range of people. The government then planned the exposing of Mercerism as a fake religion in order to shift all the faith towards a single direction. This shows how the government is abusing their power to their needs. They now control almost every human on Earth through this competition between Mercerism and Buster Friendly and now when they feel it is more beneficial to shift everyone towards Buster, they do as they please. Buster is a tool the government is using to brainwash the individuals who watch him. The government uses him to fill the viewers' head with the beliefs that they WANT the viewers' to have. The viewers also include androids, since in the novel, Pris Stratton and her gang watch so attentively.Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Philip K. Dick, Pages 205-215 This way, the government is controlling humans and androids simultaneously. Conclusion The government uses androids to their advantage, in the sense that they use androids to do their bidding regardless ofwhattheir needs are. They also convey the reason only allowing intelligent people to emmigrate, without intelligent people androids could not have been manufactured and they could not have advanced as far as they did. The government has made their intentions clear that they will do anything necessary to ensure that they have the control and power over humans and androids. They built the androids so they employ the control into the hardware of the androids. The humans are brainwashed by Mercerism and Buster Friendly to the point where their manipulation is as simple as it can be, this allows for complete mind control of the human species left on Earth. The government seeks control, and Philip K. Dicks conveys to his readers that in this novel, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, the government is successful in their mission. Semester Project Response I started out this project completely unaware of what I wanted to write about concerning this novel. All I knew was that I knew how to make a decent wiki page and I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. As I began to set up my wiki page, I found that the setup made it much easier to write the content for my project. In that sense, I think a wiki is an amazing medium through which to do this project. It kept me organized throughout the entire project. The headings for each section and subject, I felt, kept me focused on that particular topic since that is how I divided up each section of the wiki, by topic. I also love how we can embed media with our content; it just makes the entire thing flow really well. What I disliked the most was when the wiki gave me trouble while editing my page. It would constantly go between the regular editing view and some other random view. If I chose to edit a specific section the regular view would come up, otherwise it would go back to that random view. The sources section also gave me an immense amount of trouble. For some reason, the sources section would not display on the font style of Heading 2. It was stuck as sources . It was the most annoying part of my project. In that sense, I find it pretty difficult to adapt to wikis simply because if something goes wrong, I would not know how to fix it. I was completely lost in trying to fix the editing view as well as in trying to make my sources section display properly. What I would have liked to done differently was get more help with my writing. I am a weak write and I am not afraid to admit it. My writing skills are very weak. My topics for this project were always too broad. I finally settled for a topic which I thought was detailed enough, but I am still not too sure about it. I also get off topic a lot. I would have liked to work on my project much earlier than I did so I would be able to get proper feedback. Unfortunately, I had an extremely urgent family emergency to tend to out of the country so I was forced to make accommodations. I would have also liked to spend more time overall on this project because I feel like I could have been much more creative with it. After unit 3, all I could worry about was the final exam and I could not work on both studying for the final and this project simultaneously. I chose to study for the final exam and when that was finished, I put my full focus on this project. I feel I could have definitely added a bit more creativity to the design of my wiki page simply because I know I am capable of providing more creativity. This project was made somewhat easier since this wiki was set up to keep me organized, but it also came with some difficulties. Sources Category:Browse